Permeability and line tension dependent response of polyunsaturated membranes to osmotic stresses

The lipidome of plant plasma membranes – enriched in cellular phospholipids containing at least one polyunsaturated fatty acid tails and a variety of phytosterols and phytosphingolipids – is adapted to significant abiotic stresses. But how mesoscale membrane properties of these membranes, such as permeability and deformability, which arise from their unique molecular compositions and corresponding lateral organization, facilitate response to global mechanical stresses is largely unknown. Here, using giant vesicles reconstituting mixtures of polyunsaturated lipids (Soy-PC), glucosylceramide (GlcCer), and sitosterol common to plant membranes, we find that the membranes adopt "janus-like" domain morphologies and display anomalous solute permeabilities.

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